Uric acid from cows and most mammals. Also in many plants (especially comfrey). In cosmetics (especially creams and lotions) and used in the treatment of wounds and ulcers. Derivatives: Alcloxa, Aldioxa. Alternatives: extract of comfrey root, synthetics.

Alpha-Hydroxy acids

Any one of several acids used as an exfoliant and in anti-wrinkle products. Lactic acid may be animal-derived. Alternatives: glycolic acid, citric acid, and salicylic acid are plant or fruit derived.

Ambergris

From whale intestines. Used as a fixative in making perfumes and as a flavouring in foods and beverages. Alternatives: synthetic or vegetable fixatives

Arachidonic acid

A liquid unsaturated fatty acid that is found in liver, brain, glands, and fat of animals and humans. Generally isolated from animal liver. Used in companion animal food for nutrition and in skin creams and lotions to soothe eczema and rashes. Alternatives: synthetics, aloe vera, tea tree oil, calendula ointment.

Benzoic acid

In almost all vertebrates and in berries. Used as a preservative in mouthwashes, deodorants, creams, aftershave lotions, etc. Alternatives: cranberries, gum benzoin (tincture) from the aromatic balsamic resin from trees grown in China, Sumatra, Thailand and Cambodia.

Red pigment from the crushed female cochineal insect. Reportedly 70,000 beetles must be killed to produce one pound of this red dye. Used in cosmetics, shampoos and many foods (including food colouring). May cause allergic reaction. Alternatives: beet juice (used in powders, rouges, shampoos; no known toxicity); alkanet root (from the root of this herb-like tree); used as a red dye for inks, wines, lip balms, etc.

Carotene/provitamin A/beta carotene

A pigment found in many animal tissues and in all plants. Used as a colouring in cosmetics and in the manufacture of vitamin A.

Casein/caseinate/sodium caseinate

Milk protein. Used in many cosmetics, hair preparations, and beauty masks. Alternatives: soy protein, soy milk, and other vegetable milks.

Chitosan

A fibre derived from crustacean shells. Used as a lipid binder in diet products, in hair, oral and skin care products, antiperspirants, and deodorants. Alternatives: raspberries, yams, legumes, dried apricots, and many other fruits and vegetables.

Unctuous secretion painfully scraped from a gland very near the genital organs of civet cats. Used as a fixative in perfumes. Alternatives: labdanum oil (which comes from various rockrose shrubs) and other plants with a musky scent.

Used in vitamins and supplements. In milk fortified with vitamin D. Alternatives: yeast extract ergosterol and exposure of skin to sunshine.

Fish scales

Used in shimmery makeups. Alternatives: mica, rayon, synthetic pearl.

Gelatin

Protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones with water. From horses, cows and pigs. Used in shampoos, face masks, and other cosmetics. Used as a thickener for fruit gelatins and puddings. In candies, marshmallows, cakes, ice cream, yogurts. On photographic film and in vitamins as a coating and as capsules. Sometimes used to assist in “clearing” wines. Alternatives: carrageen (carrageenan, Irish moss), seaweeds (algin, agar-agar, kelp – used in jellies, plastics, medicine), pectin from fruits, dextrins, locust bean gum, cotton gum, silica gel. Marshmallows were originally made from the root of the marsh mallow plant. Vegetarian capsules are now available from several companies.

Obtained from scales of fish. Constituent of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid and found in all animal and plant tissues. In shampoo, nail polish, other cosmetics. Alternatives: leguminous plants, synthetic pearl, or aluminum and bronze particles.

Hyaluronic acid

A protein found in umbilical cords and the fluids around the joints. Used in cosmetics. Alternatives: plant oils.

Found in blood and muscle tissue. Also in sour milk, beer, sauerkraut, pickles, and other food products made by bacterial fermentation. Used in skin fresheners, as a preservative, in the formation of plasticisers, etc. Alternative: plant milk sugars, synthetics.

Choline Bitartrate. Waxy substance in nervous tissue of all living organisms. But frequently obtained for commercial purposes from eggs and soybeans. Also from nerve tissue, blood, milk, corn. Choline bitartrate, the basic constituent of lecithin, is in many animal and plant tissues and prepared synthetically. Lecithin can be in eye creams, lipsticks, liquid powders, hand creams, lotions, soaps, shampoos, other cosmetics, and some medicines. Alternatives: soybean lecithin, synthetics.

Lipase

Enzyme from the stomachs and tongue glands of calves, kids, and lambs. Used in cheese making and in digestive aids. Alternatives: vegetable enzymes, castor beans.

Marine oil

From fish or marine mammals (including porpoises). Used in soap-making. Used as a shortening (especially in some margarines), as a lubricant, and in paint. Alternatives: vegetable oils.

Methionine

Essential amino acid found in various proteins (usually from egg albumen and casein). Used as a texturiser and for freshness in potato chips. Alternatives: synthetics.

Mink oil

From minks. In cosmetics, creams, etc. Alternatives: vegetable oils and emollients such as avocado oil, almond oil, and jojoba oil.

Dried secretion painfully obtained from musk deer, beaver, muskrat, civet cat, and otter genitals. Wild cats are kept captive in cages in horrible conditions and are whipped around the genitals to produce the scent; beavers are trapped; deer are shot. In perfumes and in food flavorings. Alternatives: labdanum oil (which comes from various rockrose shrubs) and other plants with a musky scent.

Found in fish oils. Used in the manufacture of detergents, as a plasticiser for softening fabrics, and as a carrier for medications. Derivatives: Oleths, Oleyl Arachidate, Oleyl Imidazoline. Panthenol/dexpanthenol/vitamin B-complex factor/provitamin B-5 Can come from animal or plant sources or synthetics. In shampoos, supplements, emollients, etc. In foods. Derivative: Panthenyl. Alternatives: synthetics, plants.

The most commonly known drugs derived from the estrogen rich urine of pregnant mares (PMU) are the Premarin family of drugs. The active ingredient is correctly referred to as conjugated equine estrogen (CEE). Alternatives: plants like soybeans and Mexican yams, including Activella, Cenestin, Estrace, Ogen, Ortho-Est.

Pristane

Obtained from the liver oil of sharks and from whale ambergris. Used as a lubricant and anti-corrosive agent in cosmetics. Alternatives: plant oils, synthetics.

Progesterone

A steroid hormone used in anti-wrinkle face creams. Can have adverse systemic effects. Alternative: synthetics.

Propolis

Tree sap gathered by bees and used as a sealant in beehives. In toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, supplements, etc. Alternatives: tree sap, synthetics.

Secretion from the throat glands of the honeybee workers that is fed to the larvae in a colony and to all queen larvae. No proven value in cosmetics preparations. Alternatives: aloe vera, comfrey, other plant derivatives.

Shellac

Resinous glaze. Resinous excretion of certain insects. Used as a candy glaze, in hair lacquer, and on jewelry. Alternatives: plant waxes.

Silk/silk powder

Silk is the shiny fiber made by silkworms to form their cocoons. Worms are boiled in their cocoons to get the silk. Used in cloth. In silk-screening (other fine cloth can be and is used instead). Taffeta can be made from silk or nylon. Silk powder is obtained from the secretion of the silkworm. It is used as a colouring agent in face powders, soaps, etc. Can cause severe allergic skin reactions and systemic reactions (if inhaled or ingested). Alternatives: milkweed seed-pod fibres, nylon, silk-cotton tree and ceiba tree filaments (kapok), rayon, and synthetic silks.

Vitamin D can come from fish liver oil, milk, egg yolks, and other animal products but can also come from plant sources. Vitamin D2 is typically vegan. Vitamin D3 is always from an animal source. All the D vitamins can be in creams, lotions, other cosmetics, vitamin tablets, etc. Alternatives: plant and mineral sources, synthetics, completely vegetarian vitamins, exposure of skin to sunshine.

Wax.

Glossy, hard substance that is soft when hot. From animals and plants. In lipsticks, depilatories, hair straighteners. Alternatives: vegetable waxes.